Standard Lemma guide

befuddled

adj · verb · 6 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: B IH0 F AH1 D AH0 L D Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Confused or perplexed.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: addle-pated, addled, addlepated, at a loss, at a loss for words, at sea, at sixes and sevens, baffled, befuddled, bewildered, confused, confuzzled, dazed, dazzled, discombobulated, disconcerted, dumbfounded, flabagasted, flabbergasted, flabbergastered, flummoxed, flustered, fluttered, jumbled, lost for words, minussed, misled, mixed up, muddled, muzzy, mystified, nonplussed, not with it, out of it, out to lunch, perplexed, punch-drunk, puzzled, spaced out, speechless, stumped, stymied, thrown, up a tree

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

Drunk

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: Adrian Quist, adrip, aled up, all mops and brooms, arseholed, a sheet in the wind, a sheet in the wind's eye, bedrunken, befuddled, beliquored, besotted, besotten, bevvied, bibacious, bibulous, binned, bingoed, bladdered, blasted, blewed, blind, blind drunk, blitzed, blocked, blootered, blottoed, blue, bollocksed, bombed, boozy, bosky, bottled, Brahms, Brahms and Liszt, budgy, bungalowed, bungfu, burlin', canned, clobbered, corned, cocked, cockeyed, crapulous, crocked, cunted, cup-shot, cup-shotten, cut, dead drunk, destroyed, disguised, drunk, drunk as a piper, drunked up, drunken, ebriated, ebriose, elephant's, elephant's trunk, elevated, faced, fap, fershnickered, flooey, floored, flush, flushed, flustered, fluted, fluthered, feeling no pain, fou, four sheets in the wind, fresh, fried, frosted, fuckered up, fuckfaced, fuddled, full, fuzzy-headed, fuzzy-minded, gassed, gattered, gee-eyed, gesuip, ginned, gished, glorious, groggified, groggy, half polluted, half cut, half lit, half seas over, hammered, have drink taken, have the sun in one's eyes, hazed, high as a Georgia pine, high as a kite, high, hog-whimpering, honkers, hooched up, hooted, hoovered, hosed, how came you so, impaired, in liquor, in one's altitudes, in one's cups, in the bag, in the drink, inebriate, inebriated, inebrious, insober, insobrietous, inter pocula, jaked, jarred, juiced, juiced up, kaylied, kettled, kisky, lamped, langered, langers, larruped, lash, lashed, lathered, legless, liquored up, liquory, lit, loaded, looped, loopy, loose, lubed, lubed up, lubricated, lushed, mabok, mad with it, maggot, maggoted, mashed, maudlin, medicated, messed up, monged, mortal, mortalled, Mozart and Liszt, muddled, muggy, mullered, munted, muzzy, MWI, nappy, newted, nimptopsical, obfuscated, obliviated, off one's box, off one's head, off one's tits, oiled, oiled up, Oliver, Oliver Twist, on the ran tan, ossified, out of it, out of one's box, out of one's face, out of one's head, out of sight, overcome, overrefreshed, overtaken, paralytic, parlatic, pickled, pie-eyed, pixilated, plastered, ploughed, plowed, polluted, potshot, potted, pounded, primed, puggled, quisby, raddled, ratfaced, razzled, ripe, ripped, rolling, rubbered, sauced, sauced up, scammered, schloshed, schnockered, screwed, scuttered, sewed up, shedded, shellacked, shicker, shickered, shitty, skunked, slammed, slarmied, slizzard, sloppy drunk, sloshed, smashed, snockered, snookered, snozzled, snuffy, soaken, sodden, soshed, sotted, sottish, souped-up, soused, sozzled, sozzly, spanceled, spannered, spiffed, splashed, spongy, sprung, squiffed, steamboats, stewed, stinking, stinko, stoated, stoned, stonkered, stotious, strut, swacked, tanked, tanked up, temulent, temulentive, three sheets in the wind, three sheets to the wind, throwed, tight as a tick, tight, tilted, tippled, tipsy, tired and emotional, toasted, top-heavy, top-heavy with drink, toping, trashed, tuned, twatfaced, twisted, wastey, wazzed, wazzocked, well-oiled, wellied, wet, whittled, withered, wobbly, woozy, worse for liquor, worse for wear, wrecked, zoned, zonked, zooted, zorched, zotzed

Antonyms: none provided

3

verb

Meaning 3

simple past and past participle of befuddle

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: form-of, participle, past

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

adjective satellite

Meaning 4

confused and vague; used especially of thinking

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • muddleheaded ideas
  • your addled little brain
  • woolly thinking
  • woolly-headed ideas

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: addled, muddled, muzzy, woolly, wooly, woolly-headed, wooly-minded

Antonyms: none provided

5

adjective satellite

Meaning 5

stupefied by alcoholic drink

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • the wino's poor befuddled mind
  • a mind befogged with drink

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: befogged

Antonyms: none provided

6

adjective satellite

Meaning 6

perplexed by many conflicting situations or statements; filled with bewilderment

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • obviously bemused by his questions
  • bewildered and confused
  • a cloudy and confounded philosopher
  • just a mixed-up kid
  • she felt lost on the first day of school

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: baffled, bemused, bewildered, confounded, confused, lost, mazed, mixed-up, at sea

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

10 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Dutch: stomverbaasd — confused or perplexed
  • Dutch: perplex — confused or perplexed
  • Dutch: in de war — confused or perplexed
  • German: verwirrt — confused or perplexed
  • German: desorientiert — confused or perplexed
  • Dutch: verdoofd — drunk
  • Dutch: dronken — drunk
  • Dutch: zat — drunk
  • German: angetrunken — drunk
  • German: betrunken — drunk